Comparison

Rithmatic vs Wavepocket

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Rithmatic

This app is an FM synthesizer with a vast library of classic voices. It allows users to explore, learn, build, and blend sounds, and can be used as a standalone instrument or an AUv3 plugin within DAWs. It offers a visual representation of sound and a patch builder for understanding FM synthesis.

Highlights
  • 36,118 classic DX7 voices included
  • AUv3 plugin for DAWs
  • Patch Builder for learning FM synthesis
  • Sound blending feature
  • On-screen and MIDI keyboard support
  • Arpeggiator and latch functionality
  • WAV recording and export
Features
Read full description

Rithmatic is an FM synthesizer with 36,118 classic DX7 voices built in, and an AUv3 plugin for GarageBand on iPad and your DAW on the Mac. Browse them by family and by character, learn how FM works by watching it shape each one, build and blend your own, and play them from the on-screen keys or a MIDI keyboard. No account, no ads, nothing locked. Built for iPhone Duo: half open, it stands like a keyboard synth, the waves above the fold and long keys on the flat half. IN YOUR DAW • Put it on a track in GarageBand on iPad, or in an Audio Unit host on the Mac such as Ableton Live. • Its window is the app's own Patches screen and Patch Builder, with your library. • Your bank appears as the plugin's presets, and Brightness, Attack, Decay, Release and Feedback can be automated. The patch is saved with your project. A LIBRARY THAT SHIPS FULL • 36,118 unique DX7 voices come with the app: no download, no account, no network. • Start with Essentials: the famous sounds and the songs they're on. • Browse by family, or by character: percussive, plucked, metallic, bright, sustained, swell, evolving, mellow. Or search by name. • Patch of the day: one classic voice each day, in the app and in a widget for iPhone, iPad and Mac. PLAY IT • A DX7-compatible synthesis engine runs inside the app, so every patch plays with nothing plugged in. • Play from the on-screen keys, your Mac's keyboard, or any MIDI keyboard you connect. • Pitch bend, mod wheel, breath, sustain and aftertouch, with aftertouch set to vibrato, tremolo or swell. • Velocity from a MIDI keyboard, or turn it off and choose how hard every note plays. • An arpeggiator (up, down, up and down, random or as played, over up to three octaves) and a latch that holds each key. • Record what you play and share it as a WAV. • Five tunings: equal, just, and Wendy Carlos's Alpha, Beta and Gamma scales. • Light or dark, as your device is set or as you choose. Drag the keys taller or shorter. SEE THE SOUND The waveform follows what you play: each operator's envelope, how hard you hit, the pitch, the LFO's wobble, and a chord as one layer per note. Resize it, go full screen, or watch the output itself in the Scope look. PATCH BUILDER: LEARN HOW FM WORKS FM is famous for being hard to program. The Patch Builder shows you why a sound sounds the way it does. • All six operators on a graph, each cable carrying its wave: see a modulator reshape its carrier as you drag. • Draw a cable and the builder snaps to the nearest of the 32 algorithms, so you learn routing by doing it. • Plain words beside the jargon. Edit each operator's ratio, level, envelope and tuning, the LFO and pitch envelope, or use FEEL: thickness, touch and brightness. BLEND Pick two patches and Rithmatic blends them into eight new ones. Play each, and keep the ones you like. YOUR BANK AND FILES • Gather patches from anywhere into your bank, then drag pads to swap or reorder them. • Export the bank as standard DX7 .syx files. Open .syx banks, or a .zip of them, from Files, Mail, AirDrop or the Finder. • Share a sound as a short clip of it playing, with a card and a code that brings the patch into anyone's Rithmatic. WITH A SYNTH, IF YOU HAVE ONE Hardware is optional. Choose your synth in Settings: • Korg Volca FM2 (firmware 1.10 or later, over MIDI): read its current patch, write to any of its 64 memory slots, back up and restore all 16 sequencer patterns, and capture the whole instrument to a snapshot. • DX7 family: send patches and 32-voice banks to a DX7, TX7, TX802, the original Volca FM or the M-VAVE FM-1 over standard Yamaha voice dumps. FREE AND PRIVATE Every feature is free; tips are optional and unlock nothing. Rithmatic works offline and collects no personal data: no account, no analytics, no ads. KORG and volca are trademarks of Korg Inc., DX7 and TX of Yamaha Corporation, M-VAVE of its owner. Rithmatic is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

About

Wavepocket

This pocket studio app combines a synthesizer, drum kit, sampler, and 4-track tape recorder for music creation on your device. It offers multi-touch controls, various sound engines, and a clip-based timeline for easy track arrangement. All your creations are saved locally, and the app works completely offline.

Highlights
  • Synthesizer with multiple sound engines
  • 8-pad drum kit with adjustable parameters
  • Sampler with chromatic playback and slicing
  • 4-track tape recorder with clip timeline
  • Versioned tweaks with undo/redo
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Wavepocket is a pocket studio: a synthesizer, drum kit, sampler and 4-track tape recorder that fit in your hand. Play it with your fingers: multi-touch chords, glissando slides across the keys, drum pads, and four color-coded encoders that always control what you're looking at. MAKE A SOUND: Analog (saw–square with sub), FM, and Cluster Engines • A sampler engine: play any recording chromatically across the keys • Slice samples on the waveform, name each slice, and flip between them • ADSR envelope, resonant filter, env→cutoff, LFO • Presets by category (bass, keys, strings, brass, lead, pad, pluck, bell). MAKE A BEAT: Synthesized 8-pad drum kit: kick, snare, hats, clap, tom, rim, bell • Kit-wide tune, decay, tone and level • Arpeggiator (up / down / up-down / random) and metronome MAKE A TRACK: 4-track tape with a clip timeline: record in any mode, then drag clips between lanes, trim their edges, and cut at the playhead • Everything shares one loop boundary, so your layers always line up • Mixer with per-track level, pan and mute • Filtered delay and spring-style reverb sends. KEEP EVERYTHING: Every tweak is versioned: undo, redo, or scrub the timeline of your session and annotate the versions worth keeping • Recordings and imports persist on your device between sessions • Save the whole project with settings, history, presets and audio as a single file, and render your mix to MP3 NO STRINGS: No account, no ads, no tracking • Works completely offline • Nothing leaves your device

Screenshots

Rithmatic4 screens
Wavepocket4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Wavepocket at none against Rithmatic's 4. Rithmatic's advantage is ratings volume (9 vs 2) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Rithmatic sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Wavepocket asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Rithmatic against 4.5 for Wavepocket. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 2 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Rithmatic versus Wavepocket: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRithmaticWavepocket
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (9 ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings9 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMADE WITH BEST PRACTICE LLCMATTHEW RYAN SANDY

Customer experience

Rithmatic

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Wavepocket

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Rithmatic

One-time4
  • Small Tip$4.99
  • Medium Tip$9.99
  • Large Tip$19.99
Show 1 more
  • Extra Large Tip$49.99
None

Wavepocket

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rithmatic free?
Rithmatic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Wavepocket free?
Wavepocket is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Rithmatic or Wavepocket?
Rithmatic is rated higher. Rithmatic averages 4.6 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Wavepocket averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Rithmatic or Wavepocket have ads?
Neither Rithmatic nor Wavepocket shows ads.

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